Negotiations
by Brit Columbia
Summary: Rose extracts concessions from Ryo in exchange for canceling Dee's suspension from duty.
1. Chapter 1

**Negotiations**

**_Chapter one_**

Pairing: Dee/Ryo

Fandom: Fake

Rating: Mature

Notes: Kissing between two men.

Spoilers: To Volume 7

Timing: In my vision of Fake, Dee and Ryo become a couple in May. That's when the wonderful RPG Fake 2nd Chances had their relationship begin, so I went along with that start time, even though it looks like dead winter in the manga. (But Bikky and Carol had gone off to 'summer' camp! Go figure.) **Negotiations** takes place in July of that same year, so Dee and Ryo have been together for a couple of months at this point.

Summary: Rose extracts concessions from Ryo in exchange for canceling Dee's suspension from duty.

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. They are the property of Sanami Matoh. I am not making any money from this.

This is the first chapter of three. I'll post the rest in the next few days. Go to my Livejournal page if you want to read chapter two sooner, because I'll be posting there tomorrow night. I can't give you the address of that page because FFdotnet doesn't permit links. Try brit-columbia on a search at Livejournal, or email me and I'll send you the address.

A big kiss for my beta, Blue Simplicity, who never fails to forgive me for trying to drown her in commas!

**Negotiations**

**_Chapter one_**

It was a hot summer's day in the city of New York. Yet Detective Ryo McLean was shivering. The battered old air-con unit that was installed in their office had exactly two settings: freezing cold and totally useless. Ryo sipped hot coffee and tried not to let his teeth chatter on the rim of the mug.

It started innocently enough. His partner, Dee Laytner, offered to warm him up. One thing led to another and now the two men were heavily engaged in a compromising act.

All Ryo could think about was the taste and feel of Dee's tongue moving inside his mouth. Dee had backed him up against his desk and had a firm grip on the front of his tie. Although Ryo knew that someone could come into their office at any moment and that he really should push Dee away, the heat that was coming from Dee's whole body seemed to paralyze his sense of reason.

He pulled his mouth back from his partner's long enough to utter a half-hearted protest, but this only caused Dee to press even closer and grind his crotch against Ryo's. Ryo was finally warm. More than warm, in fact.

At that moment, they heard the sound of someone politely clearing his throat. Ryo turned his head quickly and saw to his profound dismay that it was Commissioner Rose standing at the door, a file in his hand. There was no saying how long the man had been waiting there. Dee immediately let go of Ryo's tie and moved back from him. Rose fixed the guilty pair with a cold and predatory look.

"Gentlemen, may I ask if this is the reason why we are behind in our investigation of the Hartford shooting? And is this what comes of my generosity in allowing you two to have a private office?"

Dee swore under his breath and Ryo stammered, "N-no sir, not at all. And we have a strong lead on the shooting. We're due to interview a witness this afternoon."

Rose gave them another hard look and said softly, "I should suspend you both."

"Then just do it, you son of a bitch." Even when caught red-handed, Dee couldn't help being belligerent. The commissioner always seemed to set his teeth on edge.

"And yet..." Rose looked thoughtful. "I want this murder solved and I don't want the whole department to fall behind because of the necessity of suspending TWO of its detectives."

Ryo and Dee exchanged glances, each having a fair idea of where Rose was going with this.

"No," continued the Commissioner. "I don't believe it's necessary for me to suspend both of you. One will do." His eyes moved back and forth between them speculatively. It was evident that he was taking a certain amount of pleasure in exercising his authority like this. It was also not hard to guess which detective was about to get sent home.

"Laytner, since you were clearly the aggressor in the little scene I just witnessed, and since your contribution to the success of the CI Division is negligible at best, I am hereby suspending you for a week without pay, effective immediately. I don't want to see you back here again until the 14th."

"Sir!" Ryo protested. "Dee's contribution is far from negligible. Do you think I solved all these cases by myself?" He gestured angrily to a pair of bursting filing cabinets next to Dee's desk.

Dee held up a hand. "Save it, Ryo. He made up his mind about me a long time ago."

However, Ryo wasn't finished. "We have a difficult witness to interview this afternoon, and I'm half expecting trouble. I need Dee to back me up. Ted's on vacation, Marty's out sick today, and JJ and Drake are in court."

"Well, you're in luck there Ryo, because my schedule just happens to be free this afternoon. We'll do this one together."

Dee exploded. "You lousy shit-eating weasel! You just want me out of the way so you can pursue your own private agenda with Ryo."

"TWO weeks, Detective Laytner," Rose murmured calmly.

"Sir, won't you reconsider? We've got a lot of balls up in the air right now. If I have to handle everything by myself for two weeks, I'm sure I'll drop some of them." Ryo struggled to bury his anger and to inject a placating note into his voice. It seemed to work, because the Commissioner's eyes, when they swung to him, were softer.

"Ryo, I have faith that you'll handle everything just fine. And you know you can always come to me if you need help."

"It's not that simple," Ryo said. "Over half the contacts we need to communicate with on our current set of cases are Dee's. They're not going to talk to me without him there. You know how these things work. Sir, _please _reconsider, just this once. I give you my word that this...that what you saw will never happen again."

Although he didn't show it openly, Rose was enjoying himself immensely. Now THIS was a side of Ryo he so rarely got to see. The beautiful dark-eyed detective, normally so reserved and reticent, was trying to please him and was actually imploring him not to use his power to punish Detective Laytner. Rose wondered how far Ryo would be willing to go to protect his partner.

"'Never' again, Ryo? Not anywhere? Nor with anyone else?" Rose closed the door and faced the two men with his arms folded across his chest.

Ryo flushed and took a breath as though to say something. But then his mouth closed again and he fell silent.

"You're out of line, Rose," Dee said.

"That's 'Commissioner', Laytner, " Rose shot back, with only the briefest of glances in Dee's direction. His full attention was on Detective McLean. The man stood there facing him nervously with an adorable blush on his handsome face and his tie hanging askew. The commissioner recognized that if this conversation were to continue, the next move would have to come from him.

"Ryo," he said gently. "It's not that I don't understand how these things can sometimes just 'happen'. We're all human, after all, aren't we?"

"Yes, sir."

"But I expect professionalism at all times from the men and women of the NYPD, and especially from those of the 27th precinct, for whom I have always had a special feeling. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, sir."

"And of course, I cannot hold myself completely blameless in this regard, either," said Rose. "You will perhaps remember that there was also a time when I myself was guilty of attempting to kiss a colleague."

Dee's head was nodding grimly. He had been going to mention that himself, but the commissioner had beaten him to it.

"However, although I try my best to be tolerant and understanding, certain people persist in refusing to recognize that I should be accorded the respect that my position deserves and they feel inexplicably justified in breaking the rules and insulting me to my face."

Dee and Ryo were both silent. Neither was in any doubt of whom he meant, and there wasn't really anything that either of them could say. They waited warily.

Satisfied that he had their full attention, Rose dared to go one step further.

"And certain _other _people who, while always respectful and courteous to my face, resolutely persist in rebuffing all of my overtures of friendship as well as my offers of professional assistance, leading me to conclude that in their hearts they hold me in the same contempt as do their counterparts."

"S-sir?" Ryo was staring at him in confusion and disbelief that he was hearing such a thing from the commissioner's own lips. "What are you saying?"

"That I have been disappointed in you, Ryo. While I certainly don't expect you to willingly make time in your busy schedule for me, I have been surprised by the degree to which you seem repelled by my company."

"Sir! That's...That's not true. I don't feel that way at all."

"Oh? Is that perhaps why your face always falls at the sight of me? Why you make any excuse you can to leave my presence as quickly as possible? Why I am the only person in this entire building excluded from the pleasure of ever receiving so much as a smile from you?"

Ryo could only gape at him, but where he had been rendered speechless, Dee was full of angry words that were fighting to get out of him.

"You manipulative bastard! You're not only his superior officer; you're the goddamn COMMISSIONER of the NYPD! What the hell do you expect from him? Thursday nights at the opera? Weekend jaunts to Long Island? Breakfast in bed, more like!"

"Quiet, Laytner. Even if YOU haven't figured it out, Ryo understands that he and I are in negotiations concerning the length and severity of your suspension from duty."

"Fuck that. I'll take the two weeks."

"Dee," Ryo said. "Let him finish." His eyes returned to the commissioner. "What DO you expect from me sir?"

"Yeah, asshole," added Dee, who also folded his arms. "This I've got to hear. Maybe I should take notes."

"THREE weeks, Detective Laytner."

"What? What the hell for?"

"If I hear one more piece of insubordination from you, I'll make it four. Now stop interrupting, or Ryo and I will continue this discussion in my office without you."

Dee's whole body tensed and he clenched his fists. He actually growled. Ryo quickly stepped forward and laid a warning hand on one of his partner's wrists.

Rose observed with amusement how Ryo calmed the savage beast with just a look and a touch. A jewel like Ryo was completely wasted on this man. He would never reach his true potential, would never rise to the heights he was capable of as long as he was chained to dross like this. _One of these days I'll rescue you, Ryo McLean,_ Rose thought to himself.

End of chapter one


	2. Chapter 2

**Negotiations**

**_Chapter two_**

Pairing: Dee/Ryo

Fandom: Fake

Rating: Mature

Notes: Kissing between two men. Coarse language.

Spoilers: To Volume 7

Timing: In my vision of Fake, Dee and Ryo become a couple in May. That's when the wonderful RPG Fake 2nd Chances had their relationship begin, so I went along with that start time, even though it looks like dead winter in the manga. (But Bikky and Carol had gone off to 'summer' camp! Go figure) Negotiations takes place in July of that same year, so Dee and Ryo have been together for a couple of months at this point.

Summary: Rose extracts concessions from Ryo in exchange for canceling Dee's suspension from duty.

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. They are the property of Sanami Matoh. I am not making any money from this.

This is the second chapter of three. Chapter three is already up on my LiveJournal page: brit-columbia(dot)livejournal(dot)com(forward slash). Sorry, but I can't post that as an address because fanfiction(dot) net doesn't allow links. I'll post chapter three here in a few more days.

_Blue Simplicity beta'd this for me and for all of you. Thank you Blue!_

**Negotiations**

_Chapter two _

Commissioner Rose had intimated that in exchange for certain concessions from Detective McLean, he would be willing to cancel the three-week suspension from duty that he had just given to the man's partner, that sullen, smart-mouthed jackass, Dee Laytner.

Both men were looking at him expectantly, but both were nervous. He noticed that they hid their anxiety in very different ways. Dee's attitude was one of swaggering bravado, whereas Ryo was projecting an aura of mildly respectful assurance. Rose made them wait a little bit longer as he pretended to give due consideration to his options. Finally, he spoke.

"First of all, I expect you to stop avoiding me, Ryo. You'll soon find I'm not such a bad person after all if you do."

"Sir, it's not my perception that I have been avoiding you."

"Well, there it seems our perceptions differ. I assure you that you have. But that's easily remedied. If you will consent to have dinner with me once a month for a period of six months, I'll no longer have grounds to feel that you desire to shun me. And I will remove one week from Detective Laytner's three-week-and-holding suspension."

Dee snorted in disgust and glared at Rose with all the dislike he could muster. The commissioner remained unmoved.

"Lunch," said Ryo. "I'm a single parent. And three months."

Dee stared at Ryo and seemed about to speak, but Ryo increased the pressure of his hand on Dee's arm.

"All right, lunch," agreed the Commissioner. "But I'm afraid I must hold firm on the six months. Three lunches would be an insufficient amount of time for you to get to know me."

"Done," said Ryo. "Next?"

"I expect you to seek me out and greet me daily. With a smile. I know, I know--" he held up a hand because Dee and Ryo's mouths had just dropped open at exactly the same time. "It's a strange request, and I'm aware it has all the makings of a chore, but if you make it a part of your daily routine, it will soon seem less distasteful to you. If you will consent to do this, I will remove another week from the suspension."

Ryo smiled at him, and it was very hard for the Commissioner to tell whether he was smiling in relief or genuine warmth. "It IS a strange request, sir, but it isn't distasteful to me. Of course I will. And the final week?"

"Ah," said Rose and gazed at Ryo with affection. He deliberately swept his eyes down over Ryo's face and body and then back up again, while the silence in the room lengthened. The smile dropped away from Ryo's face and was replaced by the usual expression of slight apprehension that he often unconsciously wore in the Commissioner's presence.

"No. Absolutely not." That was Dee's voice, low and dangerous. "Don't even say the words or I swear I will kill you."

The Commissioner gave Dee an impatient look. "Don't kid yourself that I'm as big a fool as you are, Detective. I believe I know your partner -- your CURRENT partner, I might add -- a little better than you give me credit for." He turned back to Ryo and drew himself up. "I'm sorry, Detective McLean, but I'm of the mind that the third week should stand."

"But sir, I -- I need him. Today, I mean."

"I can see that."

"Isn't there some way...?" Ryo tried again.

"Yes," said Rose. "But you're not going to like it."

Dee moved to block Ryo from the commissioner's view. "Forget it, Dick-head," he snarled. "I'll take the fucking week."

"Oh dear, what did I tell you? Now we're back to two weeks."

Dee started forward with murder in his eyes, but Ryo grabbed him and hauled him back. The Commissioner looked at Ryo in surprise. Because Ryo was usually so gentle, shy and soft-spoken, it was easy to forget how strong he was.

"Dee, stop it," Ryo warned, and turned back to Rose. "Tell me your terms and I'll give you my answer."

"Very well. When I walked in here, he was kissing you. Oh yes, you were saying, 'No, stop, no', but you did seem to be enjoying it, Ryo."

"Your point?" Ryo ground out, keeping a firm hand on Dee.

"Kiss him again. For a long time. Turn him on, right here in front of me."

"_WHAT_?" hollered Dee.

Ryo frowned. "Sir, I'm confused. First you suspended Dee for kissing me. Now you offer to reverse the suspension if we commit the exact same, er, 'crime' again?"

Rose grinned. "Actually, I didn't suspend Detective Laytner for making advances on you. In addition to his insubordination, I suspended him for this." He held up the file he had entered their office with.

"Uhhh...What's that?" By the tone of Dee's voice, it was already clear that he might have some idea of what it was about.

The Commissioner withdrew a paper from the file.

"Damage report," he announced, and he looked at Dee with his eyebrows slightly raised. "Of Car three, signed out by Dee Laytner on May 10th of this year. $2000 worth of repairs needed."

"Um...You sure it was me? I don't like Car three. I try never to take it."

"Well, it seems that a certain amount of obfuscation and confusion went on, what with someone sneaking the damaged car back into the lot and sneaking back out with Car two, not to mention a somewhat clumsy attempt to change the forms...but yes, I'm afraid that the end result was that it was Dee Laytner."

"Shit," muttered Dee.

"Dee!" exclaimed Ryo.

"Well, it wasn't my fault!"

"It's never your fault, is it, Detective?" Rose sighed.

"It was an accident, a hit and run. But I knew I'd get blamed so I tried to put the car back--"

"So someone else would get blamed?" Ryo interrupted indignantly.

"Traffic accident report," announced Rose, sweeping another piece of paper out of the file. "Car three, an undercover vehicle with the 27th precinct of the NYPD, license plate blah-blah-blah was involved in an accident on May 10th of this year whereby the driver of the car ran a red light---"

"Well, the guy I was chasing ran a red light! What was I supposed to do, let him go? Cops run red lights on chases all the time."

"You're supposed to put your lights on the roof and switch the siren on," suggested Commissioner Rose helpfully.

"There wasn't time! I---Oh forget it. You had to be there." He glanced up at the Commissioner. "So that's got me a week's suspension?"

"Yes. And another week for addressing the Commissioner of the NYPD as 'Dick-head.'" The faintest shadow of a smirk briefly appeared on his face, putting Ryo in mind of Dee. "But, gentlemen, don't forget I can make it all go away." Commissioner Rose gave the file a little shake and looked directly at Ryo.

Ryo understood. "If I French-kiss him while you watch."

Dee protested. "Hey, isn't that fraternization? You're encouraging something that the department frowns on. How hypocritical is that?"

Rose shrugged. "Considering my own track record, I think it would be more hypocritical of me to pretend that I actually frown upon...er... this kind of _affectionate _behaviour in the workplace. Which I certainly don't," he added.

"Well, why do you want to see him kiss ME?"

"Well, I'd much rather have him kiss ME," Rose replied frankly. "But I know better than to push my luck. I know he enjoys kissing you, you no doubt enjoy kissing him, and I would enjoy watching the pair of you kiss each other, in lieu of what is forbidden to me. And then this--", he held up the file again, "--would become a thing of the past."

Rose looked expectantly at Ryo, Ryo glared irritably at Dee, and Dee veered between looking sullenly at Rose and sheepishly at Ryo.

It was Dee who spoke first. "Absolutely not. Not in front of YOU. I'll just take the two weeks. Right, Ryo?"

"And leave me stuck with all this paperwork and legwork while you play videogames and watch TV?"

"Save me half of it. I'll work overtime to get it done when I come back."

"Yeah, right. And what about our interview with Henderson today, huh? Suppose I get shot at or something?"

"Ryo!" Dee looked stricken. "Don't go. We'll reschedule."

The Commissioner chimed in. "I already volunteered to accompany Ryo to that meeting," he said. "And I'll be happy to help him in any way that I can during your extended absence."

Dee gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes at Rose. He was starting to feel cornered.

--end of chapter two--


	3. Chapter 3

**Negotiations**

**_Chapter three_**

Pairing: Dee/Ryo

Fandom: Fake

Rating: Mature

Notes: Kissing between two men. Coarse language.

Spoilers: To Volume 7

Timing: In my vision of Fake, Dee and Ryo become a couple in May. That's when the wonderful RPG Fake 2nd Chances had their relationship begin, so I went along with that start time, even though it looks like dead winter in the manga. (But Bikky and Carol had gone off to 'summer' camp! Go figure) Negotiations takes place in July of that same year, so Dee and Ryo have been together for a couple of months at this point.

Summary: Rose extracts concessions from Ryo in exchange for canceling Dee's suspension from duty.

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. They are the property of Sanami Matoh. I am not making any money from this.

This is the final chapter. If you liked it, let me know.

I have already posted a sexy 'postscript' to this story –what happens between Dee and Ryo after Rose leaves their office. However, it is only available on my livejournal page, so you'll have to go there to find it. I certainly can't post it on fanfiction dot net because it would get me in trouble. You won't find it on Adult Fan Fiction dot net either, but you will be able to find the link to my LJ page there. Of course it goes without saying that if you are a child or just a person who doesn't like reading about explicit sex, then please don't go looking for it.

Blue Simplicity beta'd this for me and for all of you. Thank you Blue!

**Negotiations**

Chapter 3

Commissioner Rose smiled his special superior smile, the one he reserved for Dee Laytner and others of his loutish breed. Then he turned to Ryo with raised brows.

This time, it was Ryo who took hold of Dee's tie. "Come on, you idiot, let's get it over with. How long?" he asked Rose.

"One minute. That's sixty seconds of non-platonic kissing. I expect this to look as real as possible, considering the circumstances. Anything over one minute and any extra touching or fondling is up to you." The Commissioner tapped his watch and looked at them pointedly.

Ryo gave Dee's tie a yank, which brought his partner's lips down closer in line with his. Dee was quite surprised that Ryo was willing to do this. Ryo was normally so shy and so private. But this time, although the other detective's face was flushed with embarrassment, Dee thought he saw something else lurking behind Ryo's eyes. He suddenly realized that his partner was looking at him with a 'Let's show HIM' expression on his face. He looked stubborn and annoyed and... Yes, aroused.

_Yeah, let's show him_, Dee thought. Aloud, he breathed, "Kiss me, baby."

And Ryo did. Holy fuck, was that a hot kiss. If they'd been on the top floor of the building, Dee believed it would have blown the roof off.

It started slow and sensual, their lips coming together, clinging slightly, and then moving apart. Before too long, their tongues came into play and the kiss began in earnest. To the Commissioner, who was observing intently, it wasn't just one kiss. It was a whole series of intimate mouth to mouth caresses that mounted in suspense and tension as the two lovers built gradually to a crescendo that he knew was coming.

What a beautiful pair they were. Even Laytner, who while not quite his type, would be considered drop dead gorgeous by anyone's standards. But Ryo. Ryo was his ideal. And, the fact that both of them were fully clothed notwithstanding, Ryo was actually making love to Dee Laytner right there in front of him.

As he watched, he came to a reluctant understanding that although the act of kissing highlighted a blazing sexual attraction between them, there was an energy there that transcended the physical. It was clear that an emotional and deeply spiritual bond existed between the two men.

Long seconds since, they had forgotten his presence and had surrendered to their hunger for each other. The skin of Laytner's face darkened to a blush as deep as Ryo's as his blood pressure went up. He was moaning into Ryo's mouth. His arms were wrapped around the slender waist of the man before him. He was actively running his hands over the muscles of Ryo's taut back, holding that perfect body tightly wedged against his own. Ryo's hands were entangled in raven hair and to the amazement of the raptly watching Commissioner, he heard Ryo murmur Dee's name urgently several times between kisses, and the way he spoke it-- with such love and reverence in his voice-- affected the Commissioner deeply.

He reflected rather plaintively that he had never in his life been kissed like that. It was as if the raw power of love in its purest and best form had exploded inside the room and he, a mere bystander, had been caught in the crossfire. Whereas it rained abundantly on the two detectives, it drained away from him, leaving an inexplicably poignant sense of loss in its wake. He wondered why he felt loss, when Ryo had never been his to lose. Oh, but there had been a time, back when they first met in England, and again in his first weeks at the 27th, when he had felt that Ryo might have been somewhat drawn to him. But Laytner had been on it right away_. If only I'd separated them...transferred Laytner to another precinct...Ryo would have been mine,_ he thought.

Suddenly, he couldn't stand it anymore. He had to make them stop, but without letting them see how hollowed out and bereft he suddenly felt.

"Gentlemen, you passed your 60 second limit some time ago. Don't keep going on my account." He had been going for light sarcasm, but the tone came out wrong. His voice emerged oddly flat.

Laytner eyed him with more than a suggestion of triumph. "We'll stop when we're ready, SIR," he purred. "Since this is a fully-sanctioned kiss. It might go on for a while. But feel free to leave if you've got things to do, huh?"

To his fury, Rose realized that he was not only blushing, but also at a loss for words. He turned on his heel and strode toward the door.

Just as he reached it, he heard Ryo's voice, sounding a little lower and throatier than usual.

"Sir! About the suspension..."

"Rescinded," he replied shortly, and left the room without a backward look.

"Bastard left the door open," muttered Dee, reluctantly disengaging from Ryo. "Don't move baby. Daddy just has to lock the door..."

"Dee, I can't believe we just—"

"Shh, love. Don't start thinking." Dee shot the bolt and and quickly caught Ryo in his arms again. "Let's just go back to feeling. I'm not quite done with you."

Back in his office, Rose sat at his elegant mahogany desk and fumed. He opened a drawer and withdrew a bottle of aged whiskey, from which he poured himself a measure. He tossed it down in the hopes that it would calm his jangled nerves. He had never hated Laytner more than he did right then. Or anyone, actually.

He regretted having goaded his two detectives into doing his bidding. He had initially enjoyed making them nervous, extracting an apology from Ryo, and forcing him and his partner to perform for him like that to escape his wrath. Now however, he felt simultaneously tense, aggrieved and sexually aroused, and that was one hell of an emotional cocktail. He knew he needed to process his feelings before the phone rang or someone came looking for him. It wouldn't do for anyone on the staff to see him in this agitated state.

Commissioner Berkely Rose was a man who took pleasure in the trappings of his position and his privileged life. Tall, handsome and successful, with a corner office, and a house in a fashionable upper west side neighbourhood, he had reached the top of his profession at the relatively young age of thirty-six. He had serious money in the bank, as well as the ear of the mayor and all his influential cronies. To answer the demands of his ego and powerful sex drive, he had countless admirers of both sexes. But suddenly, all his accomplishments seemed much smaller and emptier than they had an hour ago. There was something that he now needed, a hitherto unrealized yearning of the body and spirit that had been shown to him today. A bitter taste in his mouth confirmed that no amount of money or power under heaven could obtain for him what he had seen blossom and then blaze between Detectives McLean and Laytner.

Laytner, that bastard, that nobody. Always guarding 'his' partner like he was some precious virgin prince. At least no one could accuse him of not understanding and appreciating what he had. Rose too, had he been in possession of anything as intoxicating and precious as the love of Ryo Mclean, would have done his best not to let anyone take it away from him. Laytner was one lucky S.O.B. He actually couldn't fault the man.

Ryo however, was a different story. Rose felt Ryo to be just like him: calm, professional and ambitious, with a measured way of speaking and interacting with people. They were both steady in a crisis, and had analytical minds. He had always suspected that underneath Detective McLean's coolly polite exterior lurked sexual urges strong enough to match his own. They belonged together. But the young detective had been determined to keep him at arm's length, politely declining all his friendly attempts to further their acquaintance. He wondered if Detective McLean realized he probably could have been promoted twice over by now, if he had just been willing to take the hand that had been offered to him in friendship and more. He believed Ryo most likely did. The man was intelligent enough. He still couldn't believe that Ryo had chosen that asinine bastard over him. And today he had flaunted his choice quite shamelessly. Rose had been rather surprised that Ryo had not only agreed to his outrageous proposition but had gone on to writhe in unconcealed pleasure in Laytner's obviously far from unwelcome embrace. He knew he ought to forgive Ryo, but what he really wanted to do was somehow exact retribution from him.

He poured himself another shot of whiskey and sipped it slowly and reflectively this time. Someday Ryo would need his help. Someday he would come to him in trouble and in supplication. When that day came, he would make Ryo pay. He would answer for every slight, every rejection, and every minute of frustration, sexual and otherwise that Rose had ever gone through on his account.

The Commissioner leaned back in his chair. He was in the habit of thinking of himself as a kind and just man, so he would have been surprised to learn that his eyes held a merciless expression that rendered his tight, satisfied smile cruel. Patience was one of his hard-won qualities. He would not take any actions that would result in bringing Ryo to a state of crisis. No. He was not a bad person. He would just bide his time and trust that his chance would come.

_I'll rescue you,_ _Ryo McLean,_ he thought. _I'll give you everything you ever wanted. But before I do that, I'm going to punish you for today._

-end-


End file.
